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August 6, 1999/24 Av 5759, Vol. 51, No.44
Tuition tax break carries serious cost
MARTY LATZ
Special to Jewish News
Help Our Children Get A Catholic Education," said the pamphlet from the Catholic Tuition Organization of the Diocese of Phoenix. The Chabad Tuition Organization in Phoenix has literature urging us to "Further Our Children's Jewish Education in Arizona."
They are describing an Arizona law that provides a dollar-for-dollar Arizona tax credit for individuals' contributions to qualified private schools' tuition organizations, up to a maximum of $500. If you donate to a qualified private school tuition organization, Arizona will lessen whatever tax you owe by that amount. The school's tuition organization would then use your contribution to provide scholarships or grants to students attending the school.
Some call this a "free gift," as you will not be out any money if you owe $500 in Arizona taxes. In fact, the Phoenix Hebrew Academy's dean and president explain in a letter that this is how "you could tell the State of Arizona how to spend its money. ... Now you have an opportunity to direct up to $500 of your state tax dollars to further Jewish education."
At first blush, this sounds great. If you support a private school - religious or otherwise - you'd contribute to that school's tuition organization and get it credited on your Arizona taxes. The school would be better off, and you'd be no worse off. Right? Not really. The net effect is that Arizona would be spending our tax dollars to promote largely private religious educational institutions and advance religious teachings.
At least 72 percent of Arizona's private schools are sectarian. So, your money goes to the school. Arizona then effectively gives you your money back through the tax system. That money comes from Arizona giving up its right to what you would otherwise owe it. Overall, it's a clever way to potentially get millions of our tax dollars to subsidize religious education.
Why is this bad? Because our government represents all the people and should not be spending our money to teach kids any particular religious belief.
Our government should not be advancing religion over non-religion, nor promoting particular religions.
Of course, the law's proponents contend that no money is actually coming out of the state's coffers. Therefore, government is not promoting religion. It's simply allowing you to target your money to the schools of your choice. This is one argument made by the Arizona Supreme Court, which upheld this law's constitutionality in a 3-2 decision. (Its opponents have requested a U. S. Supreme Court hearing.) This argument gives short shrift to the fact that Arizona is giving up its right to collect that money from taxpayers who would otherwise owe it. The bottom line is this: If you don't make a $500 contribution, Arizona will have $500 more to spend as it chooses.
But, you say, the law's already enacted. If we don't contribute to a Jewish school and thousands of another religion take advantage of it, our tax money will promote another religion and not Judaism. This is a serious problem. It also illustrates the law's dangers - government promotion of a majority religion.
So what should we do? Repeal it. This law threatens our religious diversity and freedom in a multicultural society. Religious minorities - especially unorganized ones without their own educational systems - get short-changed and discriminated against. Jews - who have been discriminated against by governments for centuries - ought to be especially sensitive to the dangers posed by this type of government entanglement.
Contact your legislator and urge its repeal.
Marty Latz is a Valley attorney and negotiation consultant. Send comments to mlatz@negot.com.
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